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Miniatures Adventure => Fantasy Adventures => Topic started by: thebinmann on 12 September 2011, 06:38:06 PM

Title: Basing dilema
Post by: thebinmann on 12 September 2011, 06:38:06 PM
Following the Prof's recent Mordheim stuff, amonst others, I now wonder if I should go for round 2p sized bases for my skirmish fantasy. The problem is I have a fair amount on 80s slottas

so the options are as above.

1 continue with slottas (it's old ain't it!)
2 start with round bases, knowing I might never rebase and therefor have differnt base type
3 Just use both

Trivial I know, but that what living in a bin does to you...
Title: Re: Basing dilema
Post by: OSHIROmodels on 12 September 2011, 06:42:30 PM
If the figures are purely for skirmish then round is the way to go  :)

I used to have a Nordland Mordheim group that were on squares but only so I could use them in normal units.

cheers

James
Title: Re: Basing dilema
Post by: Anatoli on 12 September 2011, 06:50:48 PM
Round bases are the way to go for skirmish wargames. And it looks better imo  :)
Title: Re: Basing dilema
Post by: Andrew May on 12 September 2011, 07:04:20 PM
Mix and match, my figs are on all sorts! If people are spending more time looking at your basing with dismay than having fun playing the game then they've got it all wrong!
 lol
Title: Re: Basing dilema
Post by: Hammers on 12 September 2011, 07:33:22 PM
Slottabases are anathema and against the will of God.
Title: Re: Basing dilema
Post by: Mister Rab on 12 September 2011, 07:47:05 PM
Slottabases are anathema and against the will of God.

Except for hexagonal ones. They're allowed. Otherwise washers/2ps are the True Way for man-sized skirmish.
Title: Re: Basing dilema
Post by: Hammers on 12 September 2011, 08:05:16 PM
Except for hexagonal ones. They're allowed. Otherwise washers/2ps are the True Way for man-sized skirmish.

Backslider! Heretic!  :-[
Title: Re: Basing dilema
Post by: Prof.Witchheimer on 12 September 2011, 08:08:21 PM
Slottabases are anathema and against the will of God.

So be it.
Title: Re: Basing dilema
Post by: thebinmann on 12 September 2011, 08:10:05 PM
Except for hexagonal ones. They're allowed. Otherwise washers/2ps are the True Way for man-sized skirmish.

Yeah I've got hex and plan to use them whatever I decide, maybe even thinking of giving hexed base figures special powers!
Title: Re: Basing dilema
Post by: OSHIROmodels on 12 September 2011, 08:33:16 PM
Slottabases are anathema and against the will of God.

So say we all, apart from the ones who didn't  ;D

cheers

James
Title: Re: Basing dilema
Post by: Golgotha on 12 September 2011, 08:51:20 PM
Personally I base everything on square bases, I think I might have a dragon somewhere on a round base. Indeed I find the whole using round bases rather curious and as I use my miniatures for both skirmish and massed battles square just seems to make more sense. So basically remain square and avoid the temptation to do what everybody else is doing... Hang on a minute am I still talking about basing here?  lol

In fact while on the topic I hate slotta bases as the height and flat edges in my mind look terrible so I like using thin plastic card instead so that the base melds more into the tabletop and surrounding terrain. Just remember if using UK currency for round bases to not cover the Queens head. 
Title: Re: Basing dilema
Post by: thebinmann on 12 September 2011, 08:57:18 PM
Just remember if using UK currency for round bases to not cover the Queens head.  

Yes that is important to aviod treason, though that would mean in theory stamps coulmd nver be destroied.

Even my Queen Vic is on a 2p I think?

edit - nope she's on a washer
Title: Re: Basing dilema
Post by: capthugeca on 12 September 2011, 09:47:47 PM
If you're going to use them with the square based figures I'd stick to square.

I ended up doing one genre with square and another with round and found there's something aesthetically disturbing about using them in the same game.

Or perhaps I'm just a bit anal!
Title: Re: Basing dilema
Post by: magokiron on 13 September 2011, 05:21:51 AM
For skirmish, it's round bases to me.

Actually I'm rebasing a lot of my old Mordheim minis this days.

Best wishes.
Title: Re: Basing dilema
Post by: Michi on 13 September 2011, 07:28:28 AM
Coins from the beginning of my basing in the eighties of the last century...
Title: Re: Basing dilema
Post by: Silent Invader on 13 September 2011, 08:14:01 AM
Round bases are so much more pleasing on the (my!) eye.

I like the footprint of 1p coins and they are also thinner.  For larger bases i have used thin perspex rounds from some chap called Jimbibbly.....
Title: Re: Basing dilema
Post by: OSHIROmodels on 13 September 2011, 08:39:22 AM
For larger bases i have used thin perspex rounds from some chap called Jimbibbly.....

Who's that then  ???  ;D

cheers

James
Title: Re: Basing dilema
Post by: dijit on 13 September 2011, 09:02:53 AM
I'm in a similiar situation. I like the look of flat bases, but have loads of minis mounted on slottas. I've considered changing, but myself well enough that I'd never get my act together and go and change all the others, essentially making two sets of minis (as they look daft together), also as I game with other people, who mostly have slottas, and not liking mixing them I've decided to stick with slottas. A tough call, but had to be done for the greater aesthetics.
Duncan
Title: Re: Basing dilema
Post by: Connectamabob on 13 September 2011, 10:47:25 AM
I prefer round bases, but I do have a couple squares. Most of my stuff is more character/party than army related, so keeping things uniform is not an issue. I've come to like using found objects instead of plastic bases or coins- a stone souvenir ring*, a watch bezel, a cameo setting, a disc cut from a deer's antler, a bored-out decorative drawer pull... whatever "fits" the figure aesthetically and is suitably base-like in shape & size.

I find it's a nice way to finish off a character fig. Gives em a bit of class, like they're on a wee tiny museum display base. I don't understand how someone can spend hours painting and/or modding a figure, only to stick it on a cheap looking generic base.

*Hematite rings are the closest I get to uniformity. They're the easiest to source, and black goes with everything.
Title: Re: Basing dilema
Post by: Delaney on 14 September 2011, 04:39:15 AM
Round.

I am just switching over to totally round bases myself, -rather than your usual 25mm have gone for 30mm laser cut- so its the same size as a 'modern lipped base' but without the border.
That means I can get things in base to base contact without overhangs being an issue and damaging my paint jobs.

For 15mm I am using 20mm plastic bases so I can pick the figure up by the base.  I used coins for a while but am finding I knock bits of my conversions at that size.
Title: Re: Basing dilema
Post by: DeafNala on 15 September 2011, 02:01:55 PM
The answer is a definite "yes"...while I have changing preferences, I use them all. With minis I know are going to go to someone else, I stick with the bases the manufacturer supplied; anything else is by whim. I do, however, prefer the solid top bases for their ease in weighting the minis, square/rectangular if I'm going to have them sunk/but removable in a display base, & round for painting on names...my names tend to be too long to fit on one side of a square/rectangle.
Title: Re: Basing dilema
Post by: janner on 15 September 2011, 04:38:16 PM
Who's that then  ???  ;D

cheers

James

Some chubster in a kimono
Title: Re: Basing dilema
Post by: OSHIROmodels on 15 September 2011, 07:23:59 PM
Some chubster in a kimono

You are a scream  ::)  lol

cheers

James
Title: Re: Basing dilema
Post by: thebinmann on 25 September 2011, 10:16:26 AM
Well I'm going for round from now on and will (try) to rebase my old slottas (perhaps not the round ones and not the hexes).

Is there a tip thread for rebasing?
Title: Re: Basing dilema
Post by: Prof.Witchheimer on 25 September 2011, 10:18:56 AM
Is there a tip thread for rebasing?

Nothing special. Be very careful while removing the old base.
Title: Re: Basing dilema
Post by: white knight on 25 September 2011, 10:43:02 AM
Is there a tip thread for rebasing?

If you're going to be removing slotta bases, don't try to save the plastic base as that means more chance to damage your paintjob. What I do when removing them is hold the base on one side of the slot and put my pliers to the other side and then basically use the pliers to bend the base and it will split along the line of the slot. It cracks open easily and then you can usually remove the figure without problem.
Title: Re: Basing dilema
Post by: Garanhir on 25 September 2011, 10:55:19 AM
White knight speaks great wisdom.  Bases are cheap and readily available, so there's no use endangering a well-loved figure for its sake.

For myself, I'm not too fussy with bases.  Slotta-style figures will get a slotta base and integrally-based figures will get a shiny penny for to stand upon, with a bit of milliput to bring the base up to height.  I'm not a big fan of large bases, though, so I stick with 20mm squares/pennies for human-sized figures.  Old halflings can usually do very well on a fivepence, and folks with overly extravagant stances will usually sit quite comfortably on a tuppence or 10p if I'm feeling generous.
Title: Re: Basing dilema
Post by: thebinmann on 25 September 2011, 11:26:10 AM
Thanks guys, any tips on the tabs? Saw or clip?
Title: Re: Basing dilema
Post by: Agent Brown on 25 September 2011, 11:34:25 AM
Two pairs of pliers, grip either side of the slotta base and twist. No problems. And I clip off the tab and file the feet flat. Very quick if you use a big file rather than a modelling file. I always use 1p coins (20mm diameter) for 28mm minis. Haven't had a human sized figure need a bigger base yet, even GW stuff.
Title: Re: Basing dilema
Post by: Argonor on 25 September 2011, 01:31:25 PM
If you're going to be removing slotta bases, don't try to save the plastic base as that means more chance to damage your paintjob. What I do when removing them is hold the base on one side of the slot and put my pliers to the other side and then basically use the pliers to bend the base and it will split along the line of the slot. It cracks open easily and then you can usually remove the figure without problem.

^ What he said. I have been rebasing a lot of minis with 'built-in' bases onto washers after I started abolishing slottas for that kind of minis.

I exclusively use round bases for everything (oblongue for cattle and other animals that have to be able to stampede in tight formations - can be obtained by using 2 washers instead of 1 large), but I still use slottas for minis that are 'born' for those.

I don't find slottas too repulsive or 'different' as long as the finishing/colour of the washers and the slottas is similar, but I DO prefer the look of the washer-based minis. Thing is, though, that slotta-based and washer-based minis get almost exactly the same level of elevation (as long as the 'built-in' base is not excessivly thick). But every man his cake (or bases).  :)